Combination table and chair



Nov. 16', 1948. R. s. ATHEY 2,454,113

COIBIHATIOII TABLE AND CKAIRL" Filed April 23, 94? I z $hoeta+5haot 1 Ralph S Athey a. l q

attoniegs Nov. 16, 1948. R. s. ATHEY 2, 54, 8

' OOIIBIIIATION TABLE AND CHAIR Filed April 23, 1947 3 Sheets Sheet' 2 Inventor f 3 Ralph .S.Athey Patented Nov. 16, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COMBINATION TABLE AND CHAIR Application April 23, 1947, Serial No. 743,258

9 Claims. (Cl. 155-423) The present invention relates to a combination table and chair construction, more particularly, one for the safety seating, feeding, training and care of infants.

Combination chair-tables for infants are wellknown in the art. A usual construction is one comprising a small table with collapsible legs, which table has an opening at the top thereof in which is fitted a small chair which is either pivotally mounted to the table or removable and insertable from the bottom of the table after tilting of the table. chair is not generally desirable since it does not allow quick removability of the chair from the table in the event that it is desired to use the chair elsewhere, such as harnessed on an automobile seat or an upholstered living room chair or the like, or suspended to form a swing. The outstanding disadvantage of removing the chair from the bottom of the table is that it requires tilting of the table and a diflicult insertion opera- Pivotal mounting of the tion which is tedious, particularly for a mother that may be carrying an infant in one arm while trying to insert the chair with the other.

An object of the present invention is to provide a combined table and chair construction for an infant, which construction is devoid of the above-mentioned outstanding disadvantage more specifically, to provide a chair-tablecombination of such construction that the chair may becombination for infants and embodying the principles of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a modification similar to Fig- 2, except showing the chair removed so as to more clearly show the groove construction in the guide rail;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the chair tilted for introducing it into the hole formed in the table top-the dash-and-dot lines showing the position of the chair immediately before insertion thereof, and

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V-V of Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1, numeral I generally denotes a small table or so-called safety table and numeral 2 generally denotes a chair which is fitted into an opening on the top of the table. The top of the table comprises two side panels 3 and 4 and a slidable central panel 5. As will be noted, a hole or opening is thus provided at the central rear portion of the table for accommodating the removable chair. The rear edge of panel 5 is arcuateshaped to snugly fit around the body of the seated infant. A handle or turn button 6 pivotally mounted is provided to serve as a lock when in a vertical position, as shown, to prevent outward sliding of panel 5 from the front edge of the table, and which is so positioned to be inaccessible to the infant, When it is desired to remove the infant from the chair, handle 6 is turned to a horizontal position, therefore removing it as a stop member and allowing free outward sliding of panel 5. This outward sliding of panel 5 is limited by means of a bar 5a extending across and secured to the rear end of panel 5 adjacent the arcuate portion, as will be seen more clearly in Fig. 2. That is, the stop or bar So will abut against the front side or border portion 1a of the table to limit outward movement of panel 5 when it is slid through a slot formed in such portion. Thus the panel 5 will not be readily lost or made diflicult to insert again as. is usually the case if completely removed;

Both the side border members and front and rear border members project slightly above the surface of the table to provide a rail or guard for preventing easy sliding oif by the infant of dishes, toys or other articles that may be placed on the table. This rail about the perimeter of the table also provides a well into which a table top may be inserted which will completely cover the entire top surface of panels 3, 4 and 5 as well as the opening provided therebetween. Such table top may have any suitable ornamental design desired, such as figures, a checkerboard, or in fact, any design for play or decorative purposes. The top surface of the table top is preferably flush with the top surface of the rails.

At the two front corners of the table are provided foldable legs H and I2 hinged to the table by any well-known form of hinges, preferably of the self-locking type, and having casters l3 and M, respectively. The rear legs l5 and I6 which are also hinged and foldable are preferably provided without casters and are of the same height as the front legs including its casters, as will appear more clearly in Fig. 2. The purpose of this arrangement is to provide stability or anchoring of the chair in a given location. It is understood, of course, that if mobility is desired, such as in the case of using the table-chair combination for training the infant to walk, casters may be provided on all four legs.

Guide rails I8 and I9 are fastened underneath the inner edge portions of side panels 3 and 4 as well as to the front and rear border members Ia and lb. As will appear more clearly in Fig. 2, each of the guide rails I8 and I9 has a vertically extending groove, such as I91), and a longitudinally extending groove, such as Illa, which are for the purpose of allowing insertion of the chair from above the top of the table and for allowing horizontal sliding movement of the chair along the rails, respectively, without dropping downwardly. I

The chair 2 is preferably made of two side members and 2I, seat member 22 and a removable back member 23, which back member fits into substantially vertically extending slots formed in the confronting surfaces of side members 20 and -2I. Two pairs of dowels Zia-24b and 25a.--25b of wood or other suitable material, which are more clearly shown in Fig. 5, are provided in the side members 20 and 2I of the chair and project outwardly thereof to an extent so as to somewhat closely fit the horizontally extending slots or grooves formed in the rails I8 and I9.

A footrest 26 is provided which is rigidly secured to the inner side surfaces of side members 21' and 28 through which extends a rod 3I having outwardly extending projections 3Ia and 3Ib which fit into horizontally extending grooves formed in the side members'ZIl and 2|. A horizontally extending bottom member or bar 30 is secured to the bottom edges of side members 20 a and 2| to serve as a fulcrum or stop member for limiting the amount of tilt of the footrest. That is to say, the upper inclined edge and lower edge of side members 21 and 28 will rest against the lower surface of seat 22 and the front edge of the upper surface of member 30, respectively, as shown more clearly in Fig. 2, for any amount of outward sliding of the footrest assembly so as to enable quick adjustability of the footrest to accommodate diflerent foot lengths of infants. The footrest assembly 262I28-3I may be selectively slid underneath the chair seat in the manner shown in Fig. 4 or may be slid outwardly any desired amount from the chair and then tilted downwardly, such as shown in Fig. 2, to suit the length of the childs feet.

'In operation when it is desired to insert chair 2 into the table, the chair is initially held above the table as shown in dash-and-dot lines in Fig. 4 and its back is then tilted to the position shown in full lines so as to enable therear pair of dowels 25a25b thereof to slide vertically downwardly along the single vertically extending grooves, such as IBb, formed in the rails I8 and I9 until these dowels fit into the horizontally extending grooves, such as I 9a, into the position shown in Fig. 4, after which the chair is slid rearwardly along such horizontal grooves in the rails while maintained at the inclined position. In the course of such rearward sliding movement of the chair, it is tilted slightly clockwise as viewed in Fig. 4, and

when the front pair of dowels 24a-24b come into I registry with the vertically extending grooves, they are dropped down therethrough and thus the chair is brought into a horizontal position with both pairs of dowels resting in the horizontal grooves of rails I8 and I9 which enables horizontal sliding thereof in a forward or rearward direction.

An alternate method of introducing the chair into the table is to tilt it forwardly (instead of rearwardly) so that the front dowels Nit-44bor removal of the chair to a a 4 are slid down slots Na before rear dowels The extent of the rearward sliding movement of the chair is determined bythe size of the infant, that is, when suflieient space is provided between the curved back edge of panel 5 and the back 23 of the seat, the seat is locked in place by any suitable locking means, such as a toggle or cam operated friction brake or lock 29 mounted underneath one of the rails and which when operated will extend a brake shoe 29a which frictionally engages the side surface of one of the side members, such as 20, of the chair to lock it in place in any desired position. When the chair is once adjusted for a given baby size, it may thereafter be locked in place because in order to remove or insert the baby in the chair, it is merely necessary to slide out the middle panel 5 for- ,wardly through the slot'in member I, that is,

when the stop member 6 thereof is moved to the horizontal or unlocked position.

When it is desired to remove the chair from the table, the exact reverse operation of the one described above is effected, that is, the front dowels are first slid vertically upwardly through the vertical grooves of the guide rails, thus tilting the chair to a position similar to that shown in Fig. 4 and then the chair is slid forwardly until the rear dowels come into registry with the vertically extending grooves, as shown in Fig. 4, after which they are slid vertically upwardly and thus allow complete removal of the chair from the top of the table. 7

In order to eliminate the necessity of the above-described tilting of the chair for insertion or removal thereof, the groove arrangement in the guide rails may be modified as shown in Fig. 3, that is, two vertically extending grooves, such as I and I9d, may be provided in each guide rail instead of a single vertical groove. This will allow the chair to be inserted while the seat thereof is held in a horizontal position. In other words, the front and rear pair of dowels extending from thesides of the chair, which pairs are spaced apart by the same amount as the spacing between the vertical grooves, are slid downwardly simultaneously through the two pairs of vertically extending grooves so as to allow the dowels to fall into the horizontally extending grooves, suchas I9a, for horizontal sliding of the chair assembly. Such arrangement makes it easier to insert or remove the chair. The only possible disadvantage, if it is: a disadvantage,-compared to the modification shown in Fig. 3, is that an additional pair of vertically extending grooves or slots must be provided. But the simplicity of insertion great extent compensates for this. x

The chair may be ,provided with any desired accessories to provide wide use thereof when removed from the table. For example, brackets (not shown) may be provided at the rear edges of the side members 20 and 2I-to accommodate looped hanger brackets in order to make it possible to mount the chair on the back of an automobile seat or on the back of an upholstered living room chair, for example. The two sets of wooden dowels or perhaps other attachments, for example, eye hooks 36, 31 or the like, may serve tosuspend the chair by a rope to form a swing.

Thus itiwill be seen that I have provided a combination chair and table for use for babies or infants, which combination is relatively simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture, and whichlends itself to easy. removal or insertion of the chair from the top of the table while the table is in'an upright position instead of from the bottom thereof so as to avoid the necessity of tilting the table for such removal as is commonly required.

While I have illustrated and described certain specific embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that these are by way of illustration only, and that various changes and modifications may be made within the contemplation of my invention and within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A table having a top provided with an opening, means for supporting said table and secured to the underside thereof, a chair, means for slidably supporting said chair within said opening, means for allowing introduction of said chair into said opening from above said top, said chair including a back rest, said first-named means including guiding means for guiding the seat of said chair horizontally below the surface of said table after said chair is introduced into said opening from above the table top to adjustably vary the size of said opening and accommodate different sized infants in said chair, the removal of the chair providing an unobstructed opening whereby a panel may be placed on said table top to cover said opening.

2. A table having a top provided with an opening, a plurality of legs for supporting said table, a chair for support by said table within said opening, means for allowing introduction and removal of said chair through the top of said opening, said chair including aback rest, guide rails extending along opposite sides of said opening, the sides of said chair and said guide rails having horizontally extending, interfitting relatively slidable parts to allow forward and rearward adjustable horizontal sliding movement of said chair when introduced into said opening from above the top of the table to vary the size of said openinr immediately in front of said back rest so as to accommodate diiferent sized infants, and means for readily detachably fastening said chair to said table at any of a plurality of positions in the course of said horizontal sliding movement.

3. A table having a top provided with an opening, a plurality of foldable legs for supporting said table, guide rails depending from said top along opposite sides of said opening, a chair having a back rest and side portions, the side portions of said chair and said guide rails having interfitting relatively slidable pin and slot means including vertical slots to allow introduction of said chair into said opening from above the surface of said table and horizontal slots to allow forward and rearward horizontal sliding movement of said chair after it is so introduced, and means for selectively locking said chair to said guide rails at a plurality of different horizontal positions so as to accommodate different sized infants in said chair.

4. A small table and chair combination for infants comprising a table having a top formed of two fixed side panels and a slidable central panel extending along only the front portion of the distance from front to rear of the table top, therefore leaving an opening at the rear central portion of said top, a plurality of legs for sup-.

porting said table, stop means secured to the front side of said table for selectively allowing or preventing frontward sliding movement of said central panel to enlarge said opening when desired, guide rails depending from the confronting edge portions of said side panels defining said opening, each having a horizontal groove extending along the length of said side panels and a pair of vertical grooves, a chair, dowels extending outwardly from each side of said chair for guiding movement by said vertical grooves to allow introduction of said chair into said opening from above the table top and for guiding movement by said horizontal grooves to allow forward and rearward sliding of the chair seat underneath said table top after the chair is so introduced to permit horizontal adjustable positioning of said chair to accommodate different sized infants therein.

5. A small table and chair combination for infants, comprising a table, including a plurality of legs, and a readily removable chair having an integral back, a front pair and a rear pair of dowels extending outwardly from opposite sides of said chair, said table having an opening at the top thereof and having oppositely disposed guide rails, each having a vertical and horizontal groove, whereby .said chair may be introduced into said opening from above the table top through said hole by tilting the back of the chair downwardly and the seat upwardly, sliding said rear pair of dowels downwardly into and along said vertical grooves until they fall into said horizontal grooves, thereafter sliding the chair rearwardly guided by said rear pair of dowels which slide in said horizontal grooves until the front pair of dowels comes into registry with the vertical grooves, then sliding said front pair of dowels downwardly along said vertical grooves until they reach the horizontal grooves, and thereafter sliding both pairs of dowels in said horizontal grooves.

6. A small table and chair combination for infants, comprising a table having a plurality of foldable legs, a top formed of two fixed side panels and a slidable central panel extending along only the front portion of the distance from front to rear of the table top, therefore leaving an opening at the rear central portion of the said top, a pair of guide rails fastened underneath said side panels, each having guide means extending horizontally from front to rear of said table and guide means extending vertically from said horizontal guide means to the top of said table, a rigid chair having a back rest, means on the sides of said chair for interfitting with said vertically at the rear central portion of said top, means for locking said central panel after it is slid into said top, a pair of guide rails fastened underneath said side panels, each having a pair of vertical grooves and a horizontal groove, the latter extending from front to rear of said table, a rigid chair, said chair having a front pair and'a rear pair of dowels extending outwardly from the sides thereof which are adapted to slide into and through said vertical grooves when said chair is introduced into said opening from above said table top, and to slide along said horizontal grooves after the chair is so introduced to permit horizontal adjustable positioning of said chair to accommodate diflerent sized infants therein.

8. Apparatus recited in claim '7 includin looking means for selectively locking said chair to the table at any desired position in the course of its sliding movement in said horizontal grooves.

9. A table having a top provided with a central opening, a plurality of legs for supporting said table, a chair for readily detachable support by said table within said opening, means for allowing introduction vand removal of said chair through the top of said opening, said chair including a back rest, guiding means including means depending from the top of said table along opposite sides of said opening and cooperable with the sides of said chair for allowing forward and rearward horizontal sliding movement of said chair within said opening with its seat under- 20 neath said top after the chair is introduced into said opening from above said table-top, said table top including a central slidable panel, means for locking said panel in a position to restrict the size of said opening, and means for selectively locking said chair while supported by said guid- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the filc of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 461,225 Vilen Oct. 13, 1891 2,017,433 Carrington Jan. 23, 1934 2,353,418 Smith July 11, 1934 2,397,528 Brandwin Oct. 7, 1942 

